[ferrarirules]

Wow wow wow!!!! What a race!!!!! Forza Ferrari!!! Amazing drive by Vettel. Didn't even put a foot wrong. He was calm and composed at the end. That's a drive of a champion. 39 laps on softs and still able to fend off Bottas on the final to laps was epic.

Really sad for Kimi, he might have made Merc sweat a bit when we would have closed up from behind on Super softs tyres.

There needs to be a special mention for Toro Rosso and Gasly. Yes, they were lucky with Redbulls and Kimi retiring but still finishing best of the rest on a power dominant circuit shows that they are on the right track. So much for Mclaren moaning about Honda engine and its lack of power.

I agree with most of you, Bottas isn't as ruthless as Hamilton. Had it been Hamilton behind Vettel, it might have gone in a very different direction.

All in all F1 and the strategies are back with a bang. I was predicting before start of the weekend that no one will use Mediums and it ended up being that one stop strategy by using mediums was faster that a two stop strategy.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by DigitalNomad

Having said that, it was strange to see Hamilton pleading with the race engineer for instructions over a broken radio - "What should I do? Tell me what to do" - whatever happened to just putting your foot down and driving as fast as you can.

This exact thought did cross my mind as it unfolded but then the other side is with the engine limit. penalties, tyres and all the rest, resources need to be managed very well as pushing the car in one race can have a domino effect in the successive ones. Hence drivers do have a reliance on engineers who have the insight coming from the data captured from different sources.

I can't seem to find it but there was an article last year on how teams would calculate how many full power laps they could do and still keep the engines within the specified reliability framework and a whole system design just to manage this aspect.

And teams like Ferrari, Mercedes look at the season as a whole with the constructors and drivers crown largely overriding the result of a single race.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[revvenant]

Really happy to see a grand prix with so much competitiveness all around. Vettel came into his own to win what would undoubtedly be one the most memorable victories of all time. Bottas should be proud of his efforts in reducing the gap at the front and giving Ferrari a run for their money. Sad to see Raikkonen's pit crew member getting injured in an incident causing a premature end to his race. I am sure the race stewards will have something to say about that unsafe release. I don't remember seeing so many pit incidents in the first 2 races of any F1 Championship, hope it's not a systemic problem.
The excitement of seeing some wheel-to-wheel action notwithstanding, I don't feel Max's temperament is quite up there to be a world champion. Their was absolutely no reason for closing that gap on Hamilton which resulted in he himself getting a puncture. Gasly, for me, was the star of the race though and wish him many good things in times to come.
F1 has never felt so alive with pure racing in a long long time.

[phoenixash]

Originally Posted by arun_kun

One quick question though, was there any issue with the tyre fitting with Kimi or they just stopped because crew was injured?

Besides the fact that they didn't change the tire, current Formula 1 rules allow teams to only run one type of tyre on a car at a time, therefore if they had released him onto track, Kimi would have got penalised for having the Soft & Supersoft on his car at the same time.

[GTO]

I've never considered Vettel to be a no.1 driver, but man, he really put in a brilliant race yesterday. Getting the maximum performance out of a car whose tyres are running beyond Pirelli's own specifications was something else. And keeping a Mercedes behind - no less! Well deserved win & definitely my driver of the day. I loved his post-race behaviour & comments too.

It's going to be an exciting season for us with Ferrari & Sebastian showing such form. Am glad it's no Mercedes washout of a year.

Speaking of Mercedes, Bottas is really wasting that seat. If he cannot overtake Vettel in such conditions, I don't think he ever will. Hamilton made the most of whatever he could get with a 3rd position.

[StarrySky]

I think criticism of Bottas is a bit harsh. It seems no one at Mercedes (even Ferrari, probably) expected Vettel to go to the end of the race on the Softs. Earlier during the stint, Bottas had great pace on mediums (equal to or better than Vettel) and there was a radio call to him saying that pace is good, "but remember we are on Plan B" or something similar - probably reminding him that he needs to go to the end on those tires. I think Mercedes expected Ferrari to stop and put on the set of fresh SS tires that they had and attack towards the last 20 laps (which is exactly what Kimi would've attempted on Hamilton without his pitstop issue). I think Bottas was focussed on maintaining a gap to Vettel, while keeping his tires in good shape to defend against Vettel later. I think that by the time Mercedes realised Vettel was going to the end, it was probably a bit too late. Only criticism I have is that maybe Bottas could've been slightly faster overtaking the backmarkers.

It's easy to say driver X or Y would've overtaken Vettel. We saw one superstar driver attempting an overtake and getting his tires cut in the process. If Bottas had tried something and taken himself out, criticism would've been that he was foolish to attempt that pass. If he had taken Vettel out, criticism would've been about Mercedes using him to take Vettel out. I don't think there were any clear cut overtaking opportunities for Bottas in the couple of laps he was right behind Vettel, with Ferrari being as fast as they are in a straight line.

[jpcoolguy]

The incident with Kimi's car presses the importance of the lollipop man and reminds that over reliance on technology can have negative effects as well.

When Hamilton was almost 2 seconds within Bottas, I thought that Mercedes would let Hamilton pass Bottas and ask him to chase Vettel. Even Bottas was struggling at that time and was losing time on Vettel. Then came those blue flags and Hamilton lost quite a bit of time overtaking those backmarkers and eventually contend with 3rd place. It would have made for interesting viewing if Hamilton had passed Bottas and had chased Vettel.

[arunphilip]

Wow, what a thrilling race, marred only by the Ferrari pitstop incident.

It's a shame that the mechanic's leg is broken, and one can only wish for a speedy and full recovery, with no lasting damage.

I have to say that was a risky and brave decision by Ferrari to switch to plan B. If it went wrong, either by Vettel losing first, or worse, with a tyre failure, criticism would have been heaped on Ferrari especially in light of their previous similar decisions in Spa and Silverstone.

Good job by Vettel in also keeping the car under him in the closing laps.

I wonder if Kimi kicked kittens or puppies earlier in his life, to be facing so much bad luck now. It's like Murphy's law was customized for him "If something can go wrong for Kimi, it will".

I wonder if Mercedes should have released Bottas into attacking a few laps sooner, or whether they assumed he'd go full-attack the way Hamilton/Ricciardo/Alonso would do. It's easy to be harsh on Bottas, but we have to recognize that due to the need for engine management, it's the pitwall calling the shots of when and how hard their drivers push, and it's more of the final closing and overtaking moves that are solely in the hands of the driver.

Toro Rosso - and particularly Gasly - also impressed, although I fear that their finishing position was exaggerated by the three retirements ahead of them.

The other big takeaway is just how poorly the Mercedes customer teams are doing. The rest of the midfield is pulling away from them quite comfortably. I know Force India are having financial difficulties (and I really wish they can overcome that, as they're an exciting team), and Williams don't seem to have a good car, nor impressive drivers.

[fiat_tarun]

Although I am a big Ferrari fan, am not too fond of Vettel, but boy did he drive a super race yesterday ! The last time Ferrari tried to drag on tyres, it failed miserably with both the cars ending up with punctures on the last lap.

I really want Kimi to do well, but he always seems to get the short end of the stick. To me Bottas & Kimi are very similar, content driving their own races without the hunger that Lewis or Vettel have.

[sourav9385]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

I think criticism of Bottas is a bit harsh. ...I don't think there were any clear cut overtaking opportunities for Bottas in the couple of laps he was right behind Vettel, with Ferrari being as fast as they are in a straight line.

Nope. The criticism is absolutely justified. And here's why.

He's a Formula 1 racing driver. He has one the best cars on the grid, with one of the most powerful teams backing him. If he doesn't push, he's not a racing driver hell bent on winning the race or the world championship. At no point during the race was Bottas even close to overtaking Vettel. Which is really sad considering he didn't lose places, but gained one instead! Vettel & Bottas were P1-P2 right from the start. But did Bottas push to come close to him even a little bit? Nope!

The only time Bottas came close to Seb was when Seb's tyres were getting knackered. Hell, a freaking Sauber would've closed the gap to Vettel considering his tyres were old. So why the heck didn't Bottas push earlier? Lewis made his move from 9th to 3rd, but Bottas didn't even challenge Vettel throughout the entire race? Not acceptable by any standard, no matter what the reasoning.

This is Formula 1. World Championship. Where the best of the best compete and are separated by milliseconds. This is not a kids annual sports day where everyone is a winner. You have one of the best cars on the grid, and you don't push to get to P1 from P2? In that case you, are NOT world champion material. You're just a gap filler because other champions were unavailable to Mercedes.

Oh, and your argument about Bottas not having overtaking opportunities? There are no overtaking opportunities in F1. You have to create them. Push the boundaries of what's physically possible while balancing tyres, fuel and whatnot. That is what separates the winners from the losers. What the heck is Vettel supposed to do? Wave Bottas by?

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by sourav9385

The only time Bottas came close to Seb was when Seb's tyres were getting knackered. Hell, a freaking Sauber would've closed the gap to Vettel considering his tyres were old.

You make it sound like Bottas was on brand new tires.

Originally Posted by sourav9385

So why the heck didn't Bottas push earlier?

Because his team were making the calls when to push and when not?

Originally Posted by sourav9385

Lewis made his move from 9th to 3rd, but Bottas didn't even challenge Vettel throughout the entire race?

And how many Ferraris did Lewis overtake? Don't forget that he benefited from one RB retiring ahead of him. The other RB started 14th and was ahead of Lewis when it too went out.

Originally Posted by sourav9385

This is Formula 1. World Championship. ... Oh, and your argument about Bottas not having overtaking opportunities? There are no overtaking opportunities in F1. You have to create them....What the heck is Vettel supposed to do? Wave Bottas by?

Same thing happened with roles reversed in two GPs last season with Vettel following Bottas from lights to flag. And also with Lewis and Max in Japan last season. Max had to go outside the track to overtake Kimi with a huge tire advantage in US GP. I didn't see Lewis or Ricciardo "create" any opportunities in the last GP. If top drivers can't overtake, we blame it on cars, circuit, dirty air and what not. If Bottas can't, he must be crap.

[sourav9385]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

...Same thing happened with roles reversed in two GPs last season with Vettel following Bottas from lights to flag. And also with Lewis and Max in Japan last season. Max had to go outside the track to overtake Kimi with a huge tire advantage in US GP. I didn't see Lewis or Ricciardo "create" any opportunities in the last GP. If top drivers can't overtake, we blame it on cars, circuit, dirty air and what not. If Bottas can't, he must be crap.

LOL. You might blame cars, circuits and dirty air for being reasons why overtakes didn't happen. I do not. I squarely blame drivers.

And I can't blame Lewis of Vettel. Seeing as both are 4 times world champions. Neither of them has ever sat comfortably following team orders and not going for it. But Bottas just seemed happy pushing only when Vettel was struggling with grip. And his unwillingness to push is quite evident. Unless someone wants to be clinically ignorant.

On the subject of Lewis not creating any overtaking opportunities, I guess the Renault, Force India & McLaren in this GP just pulled up by the side of the straights on lap 5 and just waved Lewis by, or was I dreaming

[shibujp]

Mercedes got the strategy spot on. The change to mediums on the first pit stop really took the fight to Ferrari and it was very obvious that Ferrari did not really have an answer to this. From the time Ferrari took the decision to try to finish the race to the end on softs, it was all Vettel. His tyre management was just spot on and left barely enough life to hold off Bottas at the closing stages of the lap. Kimi's botched pit stop put even more pressure on Ferrari as with Kimi in play Ferrari might have had a change to apply pressure on Lewis given the Ferrari's pace on softs.

Originally Posted by StarrySky

I think criticism of Bottas is a bit harsh. It seems no one at Mercedes (even Ferrari, probably) expected Vettel to go to the end of the race on the Softs. Earlier during the stint, Bottas had great pace on mediums (equal to or better than Vettel) and there was a radio call to him saying that pace is good, "but remember we are on Plan B" or something similar - probably reminding him that he needs to go to the end on those tires. I think Mercedes expected Ferrari to stop and put on the set of fresh SS tires that they had and attack towards the last 20 laps (which is exactly what Kimi would've attempted on Hamilton without his pitstop issue). I think Bottas was focussed on maintaining a gap to Vettel, while keeping his tires in good shape to defend against Vettel later. I think that by the time Mercedes realised Vettel was going to the end, it was probably a bit too late. Only criticism I have is that maybe Bottas could've been slightly faster overtaking the backmarkers.

Makes sense. I am also of the opinion that the criticism of Bottas is warranted. He must have been racing to a target lap time just as Lewis. Being a junior member of the team he obviously wouldn't be ready to upset the applecart the way Lewis perhaps does. On Mercedes side I think they should have asked Bottas to push Vettel earlier just to compromise Vettel's tyres, perhaps get within 1 or 1.5 secs. Hold the gap and then push for the pass in the last five laps. However this too would not have been without it's risks as I belive the mediums heat up faster and may have potentially ruined the mediums. We did see Lewis lock up a few time himself. As it is Bottas was let loose only during the closing laps by which time Vettel had enough in his tyres to complete the job. But then what if Bottas ruined his mediums to such an extent that Ferrari pitted and came back to overhaul Bottas. Just some many scenarios that could potentially play out.

The team that felt like they won the championship, I guess would be Torro Rosso. And with it redemption of sorts for Honda. It's early in the season and might be a one race wonder but the way Gasly executed the race was admirable. He just got on with it. Another potential Red Bull star I guess.

Did the Mercedes cars seemed to be more comfortable in dirty air in Bahrain or was it just the width of the track not making this a big problem as in Melbourne which is bumpier and narrower.

I would love to see more run ins between Verstappen and Hamilton. This time Verstappen was the victim but I hope he takes the fight to Hamilton and spices things up a bit. Given the hoopla about his run ins with Vettel, I'll like to see reactions when another team gets the same treatment.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

The other big takeaway is just how poorly the Mercedes customer teams are doing. The rest of the midfield is pulling away from them quite comfortably. I know Force India are having financial difficulties (and I really wish they can overcome that, as they're an exciting team), and Williams don't seem to have a good car, nor impressive drivers.

Interesting point. I feel to an extent that Mercedes is very reliant on their engine power. There are a lot of other teams that does other aspects better than them in terms of aerodynamics, tyre management, cooling etc all stuff that need quite a bit of money, talent etc. I don't think that the customer teams might have the resources to pay for the engine as well as deploy financial and human resources to the other areas as well. However specifically on Force India, they seem to manage this much better than Williams which is surprising given that Williams generates money in other areas outside F1 compared to Force India. Ocon's point finish does indicate that Force India may be getting on top of this problem.


Drive on,
Shibu.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by sourav9385

LOL. You might blame cars, circuits and dirty air for being reasons why overtakes didn't happen. I do not. I squarely blame drivers.

And I can't blame Lewis of Vettel. Seeing as both are 4 times world champions.

Well, then why don't 4 time champions "create" overtaking opportunities every time they are behind someone? If 4-time WDCs can't overtake, then they can't be blamed - the blame must lie somewhere else (circuit, cars, dirty air?). If Bottas can't overtake, one must squarely blame the driver (as if he should magically triumph over circumstances that even the best drivers can't seem to overcome).

Let me be clear that I am not equating Vettel or Lewis to Bottas as I believe they are both better drivers than him. But I think your logic above is flawed.

Originally Posted by sourav9385

But Bottas just seemed happy pushing only when Vettel was struggling with grip. And his unwillingness to push is quite evident. Unless someone wants to be clinically ignorant.

Bottas was catching Vettel at the beginning of his stint and cut Vettel's lead from about 7.5s to 4s. The team told him on the radio to be conservative, probably expecting Vettel to stop again. The lead grew to about 7s. When it was clear that Vettel was not going to stop, they asked him on the radio to push, which he did. Yes, he could not overtake - that doesn't mean he is an ambitionless driver.

Originally Posted by sourav9385

On the subject of Lewis not creating any overtaking opportunities, I guess the Renault, Force India & McLaren in this GP just pulled up by the side of the straights on lap 5 and just waved Lewis by, or was I dreaming

But then my question was how many Ferraris did he overtake while moving from 9th to 3rd? He also sat behind one without "creating" anything at Australian GP. Also, from the top of my mind at Hungary last year, when the Ferrari was driven by a "lesser" driver Kimi.

We can always say driver X would've done better. It's not a foregone conclusion, even when the best of the best are involved.

I don't want to take anything away from Lewis' triple overtake, it was a brilliant piece of racing. But he also had a big pace advantage over them. He nearly lapped them after he overtook those cars (the best McLaren finished 90s behind Lewis).

[rohitoasis]

Whenever i miss a race, i watch this channel for the updates of the funniest bits of the race. This time i missed the race and god i wish i had not missed it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puudxYd6OQc

And then one the best parts of weekend finally shared by Formula 1 channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjrbrBVKOeQ

I know that the videos from this channel do not open outside youtube. But the race did give one of the most audacious overtakes, clashes and a monster of a drive by Seb. But the best part of the weekend was the humane side of Vettel defending Hamilton in the press conference. Hats off to him for this bit.